The Portland daily press., 1887-01-22
The cider sn,
The Bridgton News has this to say about
the new cider bill:

The Brldgton News has this to say about
the new cider bill:
II we understand the additional cider legislation
asked for by the committee of the Good Templars
II III elect ixes precise period when cider be-
comes old7 cider, or an intoxicating beverage
ny tne plan proposed by the committee, when
cldcr Is less than twenty days old ii may be sold in
quantities of not less than one larrei to adults
Tor drinking purposes, but when more than TWEEN.
y days old Il can only be sold for vinegar max
ing. For many years the Maine Good TemDlars
have stood committed to the declaration that the
Tue Juice Of the apple IN all It's Stages. after be-
ing expressed tbereirom," is an intoxicating bev-
erage and lutte ldicted by the pledge uf the Order
aud THIS doctrine is generally held by temperance
people on the ground that 1t is absolutely mpossi-
PIE 70 determine the precise period when the Juice
OF the apple becomes intoxicating The twenty
uay-nmit seems to Us an nnwise ldracton of this
well-settled principle. Besides. tie law would be
practically dead letter because % the absolute
lmpossbility Of determining the age of the bever-
age-or even OF discovering the uSe TO which it is
10 be applied Granted that the cider tippling
shop is a nuisance whicl ought TO be abated we
nevertheless have little faith that much can be ac-
eomphshed in The direction of the suppression Of
the evil until public sentiment shall sanction law
placing cider in the category OF other ntoxicants
las the temperance organizations now do-and
absolutely prohibits Its sale except for medicinal
or culinary purposes.
This is sensible, and coming from a paper
whose editor is well known temperance re-
former, viii be likely to have a good deal of
weight. No three lawyers, distinguished or
otherwise, ever got together and concocted
mere foolish bill than this one. In order to
enforce it, in the first place it would be nee
essary to have some infallibIe test by which
the age Of cider could be determined No
such test has been discovered, nor is likely to
be. In the second place it would be neces-
sary to appoint constable to follow every
barrel of cider more than twenty days old
and see what was done with it-whether it
was used strictly for vinegar making or for
mince pies-for the man who buys cider over
twenty days old for any other purpose than
vinegar making is liable to punishment UNI
der this bill as well as the man who sells it,
This would require small army. Then, to
convict the man who sold it it would be nee
essary to prove that he knew he was selling
1t for something else than vinegar making
a thing that could not be done once in a hum
bred times.
If the originators of this bill had described
it as bill for the promotion of lying. they
would have characterized it much more cor
rectly than they have by calling it a bill to
suppress cider tipping In the. sellngl of
other liquor there is opportunity for only one
lie. The only defence the seller can make is
that he didn't sell it, and it is so easy for the
government to overthrow that defence that
generally it is not made. But this cider bill
furnishes the seller three or four chances
and attractive ones too. He can lie about
the quantity, he can lie about the age, he can
lie about the use he supposed it was to be put
to. And as the law makes the purchaser as
well as the seller liable to punishment the
government to prove its case has got to rely
on witnesses nnless an army of constables is
appointed to watch every barrel of cider
made in the State until it becomes vinegar,
who can refuse to testify on the ground that
their testimony would criminate themselves,
or who can lie and bind the government by
their lie, inasmuch as the government can